Fontaine Modification Celebrates Safety Milestone: Charlotte location marks 1,000 days without a lost time accident

Charlotte, N.C. (Feb. 2, 2012)—January 16th passed without incident at Fontaine Modification’s Charlotte, N.C., headquarters—and that was cause for celebration. It was the facility’s 1,000th day without a lost time accident, and a significant achievement for the 58 employees who work here.

Fontaine Modification is the leading provider of truck modification services for OEMs, dealers and fleets throughout North America. Its Charlotte location is home to the company’s headquarters, Innovation Center and one of its six nationwide truck modification centers. All Fontaine employees are part of a company-wide safety program established in 2009 when a new management team came on board.

“The very nature of the truck modification business makes it susceptible to accidents,” says Will Trantham, president. “There are a lot of variables to control and the work is very hands-on. We’re literally taking apart and rebuilding trucks every day. So we’ve made safety a priority for everyone in the company. Every employee is held accountable for safe work practices. Our engineers make safety a foremost consideration when designing new products. We’ve also invested in new equipment that enables us to utilize safer modification processes.”

Every time a Fontaine modification center reaches 100 days without a lost time accident, the company’s senior management team meets with each employee at the location to shake hands, say thank you for being safe and gather suggestions for additional improvements. This personal approach seems to work: several other Fontaine facilities are on track to hit the 1,000-day milestone in 2012 and 2013.

Employees at the Charlotte location were treated to lunch on Jan. 18 to celebrate their accomplishment. The celebratory meal was sponsored by Bennett-Hall Company, Fontaine’s local staffing partner.

Fontaine’s safety program incorporates best practices developed by Executive Vice President Paul Kokalis while he was in charge of the company’s Dublin, Va., operation. At the Charlotte modification center, David Hambrick, facility manager, has taken ownership of the program, recognizing the many benefits of having safe employees.

For more information about Fontaine Modification, call 800.FONTAINE (800.366.8246) or visit www.fontainemod.com.

About Fontaine ModificationBased in Charlotte, N.C., Fontaine Modification is North America’s most comprehensive provider of truck modification services for OEMs, dealers and fleets. Fontaine uses established ship-thru agreements with all major truck manufacturers to streamline the final delivery process to the end-user. The company’s modification centers are conveniently located near OEM truck manufacturing facilities in Denton, Texas; Garland, Texas; Laredo, Texas; Charlotte, N.C.; Dublin, Va.; and Williamstown, W.V.

Fontaine is a Marmon Highway Technologies (MHT) company. MHT companies support the transportation industry worldwide with a wide range of high-quality products and services. MHT companies are members of The Marmon Group, an international association of business units that operate independently within diverse business sectors. The Marmon Group is a Berkshire Hathaway Company.